


a whisper and a clamor

by joshllyman



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Urban Fantasy, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-05
Updated: 2020-10-05
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:47:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,925
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26828341
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/joshllyman/pseuds/joshllyman
Summary: It’s three hours and countless games of Among Us later when someone Daichi doesn’t recognize finally shows up. He’s tall with long brown hair braided down his back. A cream colored sweater frames his broad shoulders, and as he approaches the door, he digs a set of keys out of his jeans.“Um,” he says, noticing Daichi. “Can I help you?”“Man, I really hope so.” Daichi groans as he stands, hours of sitting still causing his body to protest. “I think the box is yours. It’s very loud.”
Relationships: Azumane Asahi/Sawamura Daichi
Comments: 6
Kudos: 48
Collections: Haikyuu Rarepair Exchange 2020





	a whisper and a clamor

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Yuuzel](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yuuzel/gifts).



> LILIJA I really hope you enjoy this gift!!!!

There’s a package on Daichi’s front porch when he arrives home.

And that’s definitely not right, because he’s been careful about spending any of his extra money lately. The last time he’d splurged, he’d ended up with a backpack that was supposedly spelled to be anti-theft. He’d thought it had been wise, since he’d had his laptop stolen recently. As it turned out, “anti-theft protection” meant the bag screamed any time it was picked up. He’d had to burn it in the end, and he’d sighed as he watched a few hundred dollars of investment disintegrate into ash.

Still, he picks it up without a lot of thought. It’s large enough that it makes it awkward to open the door, but he manages without dropping his keys, which he counts as a victory. He sets the package down on the table, along with his regular, quiet backpack. He goes to the fridge to retrieve a snack and a knife before he goes back to the package.

With an apple in one hand, he cuts open the cardboard.

Screaming and crying immediately fill the apartment. Daichi drops the apple and tries to close the box again, but it must have had a soundproofing spell on it, because no amount of cardboard could contain the unholy noises from within. With a noise of frustration that’s lost to the cacophony, he peeks inside to see what the cause of the noise is.

Hundreds of what look like little green seedpods are contained inside, each one wriggling and bumping around into the others. Daichi frowns. He definitely didn’t order these...things, and no one would have sent them to him. He stays firmly in the non-magical, especially after his encounter with the backpack. Fruitlessly, he closes the box back up to check the label.

**Asahi Azumane** is written in elegant script, along with the address of the apartment next to his.

Daichi hauls the box off the table and out into the hall. Hopefully Asahi, whoever he might be, is more adept at making the seedpods shut up, or he’s going to have to file a noise complaint. 

With the box tucked under his arm, he knocks firmly at Asahi’s door. It feels unnecessary, since he feels like everyone within a two mile basis can hear the screaming, but he supposes it’s a matter of propriety.

Asahi, however, doesn’t come to the door.

“Tell me you’re not home,” Daichi sighs.

Another minute of waiting and three awkward waves at neighbors later, Daichi wrestles the box back into his own apartment. It returns to its place on his table, and he crosses his arms as he glares at it. There’s no way in hell he’s getting any homework done with those things in the apartment. His essay will have to wait, he supposes, and he resigns himself to a late night whenever he gets around to it. 

Wrapping a blanket around the box muffles the sound somewhat. Daichi retrieves the apple he’d abandoned before and takes the box back out into the hallway. He and the box plop down on the floor outside Asahi’s apartment and wait.

It’s three hours and countless games of  _ Among Us _ later when someone Daichi doesn’t recognize finally shows up. He’s tall with long brown hair braided down his back. A cream colored sweater frames his broad shoulders, and as he approaches the door, he digs a set of keys out of his jeans.

“Um,” he says, noticing Daichi. “Can I help you?”

“Man, I really hope so.” Daichi groans as he stands, hours of sitting still causing his body to protest. “I think the box is yours. It’s very loud.”

“My seedpods,” Asahi says. “Oh, I’m so sorry!”

“It’s my own fault,” Daichi says, waving him off. “Should have looked at the label before I broke the box open.”

“Still,” Asahi says. “I’m so sorry. Please come in, I’ll get you some tea for your trouble.”

Normally, Daichi would argue, but all he’s had is the apple and he’s getting pretty hungry, so he picks up the box and follows Asahi into his apartment.

In layout, it’s the mirror image of his own, but the decoration is entirely different. There are plants everywhere, hanging from the ceiling, cascading down the walls, lined up all along the baseboard in little pots. As Asahi enters, the light above brightens. A watering can on four legs gets up and begins to make its way around the room, bending over each plant in turn. Asahi sets down the bag slung across his back and turns to Daichi.

“Sorry for the mess,” he says. 

“That’s alright,” Daichi answers, too fascinated by the way a tall red flower shakes the excess water out of its pot to even look back at him. “You’re a witch, then?”

“In training.” When Daichi looks back, Asahi wears a pink blush across his cheeks. “I’m a student at Warner’s.”

“I go to State,” Daichi says. “Accounting.”

“Herbology.”

As he says it, the box screams a little more loudly. Asahi jumps and goes to unwrap it. 

“There, there,” he murmurs, scooping a handful of wriggling green seeds out of the box. “You’re just fine, then, aren’t you? It seems like your new friend took care of you just fine. And I’m a terrible host who didn’t ask his name, aren’t I?” He looks up at Daichi. “I’m so sorry. I’m Asahi Azumane.”

“I got that from the label,” Daichi answers, grinning. “I’m Daichi Sawamura.”

“I haven’t forgotten your tea, either,” Asahi says. “Give me just a moment to get these guys settled in.”

“Of course.”

Already, they’re a little quieter than they were before. Daichi has no idea what kind of magic Asahi can perform just by speaking to them, but they seem calmer in the box. Asahi retreats to the back of the apartment and returns with a pot large enough to hold all of them. 

“They’re for a group project,” he says to Daichi. He hauls a bag of dirt seemingly out of nowhere and pours some into the pot. “So you won’t have to hear them all the time.”

“That’s a relief,” Daichi answers.

“Sorry again,” Asahi sighs. “Of all the packages to get mixed up.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

Asahi picks up a handful of seeds and coos softly to them before setting them gently inside the pot. Immediately, they settle in and hush. Asahi repeats this, handful by handful. Slowly, the noise recedes. Daichi approaches the pot and looks inside. The seeds have settled into the dirt, and they rise and fall gently, as if they’re breathing. It’s almost cute.

The entire repotting process takes ten minutes or so. Daichi watches in awe as Asahi settles them into their new home. He’s not sure if it’s just something special about Asahi, or if it’s a magical quality in the dirt, but when the box is emptied, the apartment is filled with only the sound of the creaky old watering can as it finishes its duties. Asahi breaks down the cardboard and sets it by the door.

“Tea,” he says with a smile. “You can have a seat if you like. I should have offered before, I’m sorry. I’m really not used to company.”

Daichi settles on a barstool. Asahi’s magic, it seems, isn’t limited to plants, because it assists him gently as he prepares the tea. When a spoon is just out of reach, it appears to be drawn magnetically to the palm of his hand. The tea leaves hop down off the shelf and pack themselves into the strainer on their own. The water boils almost instantly, and the kettle sings a lovely rendition of Smashmouth’s “All Star” as it steams.

“I’m so sorry,” Asahi says again, grabbing the kettle off the stove. “It was a prank gift.”

Daichi laughs. “That’s amazing.”

Asahi smiles at him. “I’m glad someone thinks so.”

With the tea steeping, Asahi joins him at the counter. “So accounting,” he says. “Is that...fun?”

“No,” Daichi answers immediately, and Asahi grins. “No, it’s not fun at all. But it’ll be better once I get out into the real world, you know?”

“I understand,” Asahi answers. “Some days it feels like I’ll be stuck in school forever.”

“I know that feeling,” Daichi replies. “But magic school has to be more exciting than what I do.”

Asahi purses his lips as he considers this. “There was an outbreak of kittens from the transfiguration department last week,” he says thoughtfully. “A spell was misfired. It was supposed to be just one cup-turned-kitten, but it got cast on an entire china cabinet.”

Daichi gapes. “Did they catch them all?”

“The kittens? Oh, sure,” Asahi says. “They didn’t cause too much trouble. They were tinkling like wine glasses as they went scampering, so they were easy enough to round up.”

Daichi laughs again. The pink blush covers Asahi’s cheeks.

“Your tea should be ready,” he murmurs, taking his own mug to his lips.

The tea is nothing like Daichi’s ever tasted. He can pick out the chamomile, the lavender, but he can also taste the feeling of home, the warmth of a blanket just pulled from the dryer, and the lingering ghost of a tight hug.

“Did you...brew this?”

Asahi shrugs. “It’s just something I do in my free time.”

“You’re amazing,” Daichi says earnestly.

Asahi sputters and sets his mug down. “You’re not accustomed to magic, are you?”

“I don’t need to be to know you’re incredible.”

Asahi looks intently into his mug. “Well. You can do complicated maths, and that’s incredible, too.”

Daichi learns quickly that Asahi is quick to embarrassment and prone to blushing, and as his tea mug empties, he presses that button as much as he can, liking the way the color fills Asahi’s cheeks. When Asahi gets up to take their mugs to the sink, Daichi follows him.

“Thank you again for sitting with the seedlings,” Asahi says. “It’s kind of a thankless job, but I appreciate that you didn’t just leave them alone.”

Daichi shrugs. “It was nothing.”

“It wasn’t,” Asahi insists. “It’s not just anyone that would stay with a bunch of angry, upset little seeds. You’re a good man, Daichi Sawamura.”

Now it’s Daichi’s turn to blush. “Well. It was my fault for opening the box, after all.”

Asahi walks him to the door. “If you ever want another cup of tea, you know where to find me.”

“I’m sure I’ll be back,” Daichi replies. 

In the doorway, he hovers awkwardly. The light has softened now that the plants have gotten their watering, and the golden glow haloes around Asahi’s hand, making him look angelic.

“Asahi…” Daichi says, just as Asahi starts, “Daichi…”

They both laugh, and Asahi looks down and away.

“You go first.”

Daichi looks up at the ceiling and swallows the nervousness bubbling up. “I was just thinking I don’t really want to leave,” he confesses.

Asahi shoves his hands into his pockets. “I was just thinking I want you to stay,” he says quietly.

They look at each other for a moment. Asahi offers a shy smile, and then they both look away again.

“Would you like to come back in?” Asahi asks. “I could make us dinner, if you like.”

Daichi smiles. “Only if you let me give you a hand.”

Asahi nods. “I think I can accept that tradeoff.”

Daichi walks back into the apartment, just a little too close to Asahi, He suspects he’s going to be there quite often from now on.

**Author's Note:**

> My socials can be found [here!!](joshllyman.carrd.co)


End file.
